In our times, a thirty-something composer is still considered a young composer, yet Brian Raphael Nabors has already built a large catalog of works on all genres, and his music has enjoyed great success both nationally and internationally.  A classically trained pianist, Nabors–currently on the faculty of Louisiana State University–has also worked as a church musician, as well as in R&B, jazz and gospel.  His ballet Blood in the Soil, created in collaboration with the dance company Black Iris Project and paying tribute to the history of African-American farmers and agriculturalists, received its premiere in New York in 2024.

The score of Nabors’s Concerto for Hammond | Tonewheel Organ and Orchestra contains the following note from the composer:

Back in 2017, I began to tap into a much deeper part of my artistic expression that eventually became the foundation of my voice and purpose as a composer.  I asked myself the question of how I could create work that would be a mirror for all of our human experience.  As my artistic identity became clearer it was evident that I needed to take the journey inward to where my musical foundations began.  I was raised the son of a pastor and church musician in a Black Baptist church in Birmingham, Alabama.  It was there that my relationship with sound began in the womb of my mother, who had been playing the Hammond organ since she was 13 years old.  I, too, learned the instrument around the same age.  Little did I know, this sound of incredible spiritual power had been a part of a long history of inspiration, refuge, and perseverance.  While finishing up my studies, I knew I had to write this concerto.  Just as much as my music seeks to connect people from all walks of life, the Hammond organ is a connector itself and the perfect catalyst for sharing a message of togetherness.

In the history of American music, it has seamlessly crossed genres and broken barriers.  From the spiritual silos of the Black church to the smooth and vivacious world of Jazz, to the hardy soulfulness of Rock, the Hammond has been there.  This concerto is my love letter to all that has made me the artist I am.  It is a love letter to the beauty, pain, and struggle that American music was born from.

The piece is divided into 3 movements:  a rhapsody, threnody, and gospel praise break.

The first movement, Rhapsody, is an exploration of American sound.  It is a celebration of the many cultural influences that make the US such a unique place.  In a nutshell, it is everything we continue to strive for; fluid cultural integration.  I send the soloist and orchestra through a whirlwind of genres.  There’s Latin flavor, modern jazz, hard rock, all thrown into a contemporary sound block.

The second movement, Invocation, Threnody for the Victims of Senseless Violence, Racism, Hatred & Bigotry presents a lot of hard truths that concern the well-being of our nation’s people.  Unfortunately, even in this current day and age, America is no stranger to tragedy.  Within recent years, we’ve had numerous isolated events of terror:  mass school shootings, church shootings, shootings in public places, unlawful killings of unarmed African American citizens, and meetings of unjust racist/hate groups who threaten our ability to simply have peace by pushing an agenda of hate and division.  To top it off, a global pandemic.  We all simply have not had a chance to breathe.  I wanted this movement to be a moment where we pay homage to all of those innocent people lost, but most importantly reflect on who we are, and re-examine our core values if we are to live in a nation where everyone, regardless of where you come from, can prosper.

This movement features the traditional American hymn Amazing Grace and the African-American spiritual Oh Freedom.  In partnership with the orchestra, the organ introduces these inspirational themes with sound interruptions symbolic of a very cut-throat, visceral pain to create an all-encompassing duality of hope and tragedy.  After a roaring improvised cadenza, the strings split into 14-part divisi, and voices throughout the orchestra gradually gather and ascend to a soaring climax, with each individual voice creating a counterpoint representing the souls of innocent victims ascending to claim their peace.

Finally, we have the third movement, Finale, that is essentially one large gospel praise break between the organ and orchestra.  It is a glimpse of what freedom sounds like and the peace that we’ll have when we all understand, as Dr. Maya Angelou said, that “we are all more alike than we are unalike.”  This movement is lightning fast, bringing about the sound world of the Afro-American church, where echoes of praise ring out amongst the musicians.

Concerto for Hammond | Tonewheel Organ and Orchestra was commissioned by the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Carlos Izcaray, Music Director, and by members of Sound Investment.

I would like to extend a word of thanks to Dr. Douglas Knehans, the composition faculty of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and many of the countless friends, colleagues and peers who whole-heartedly supported the creation of this work.  I would like to send a special thanks to members of the Nabors and other extended family who continued to encourage me as I pursued this rigorous endeavor.  You have my love and affection.